The Long Emergency in the Short Term

Yesterday I came across this TED talk by James Kunstler and it struck up a memory of a Freakonomics quorum on the future of the suburbs. Kunstler, the Lewis Black of urban design, can be depressingly pessimistic but I am sympathetic with much of his analysis. His 2009 outlook is so dire he makes Nouriel Roubini look like Ben Stein.

I have always had a hard time understanding the parameters economic growth and Kunstler has a good case for contraction, however apocalyptic it may sound. I do not share his level of anxiety but it is surely something to consider in such tumultuous times.